Statement from the Ohio Environmental Council on the the Bureau of Land Management’s Methane Waste Reduction Rule

Columbus, Ohio — This week, the Ohio Environmental Council submitted comments on behalf of nearly 700 Ohioans opposing the rollback of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s methane waste reduction rule. The following statement can be attributed in full, or in part, to Melanie Houston, Director of Climate Programs at the Ohio Environmental Council:

“Despite overwhelming public support for rules limiting methane waste, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has proposed to gut the BLM methane waste rule which will waste tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and cost Americans over $1 billion in wasted natural gas and pollution.

“Sec. Zinke’s proposed changes will leave American families with less funding for our schools and communities, more wasted energy, and more smog pollution threatening the health of our children and seniors.

“Time and time again, Americans have pushed back against the administration’s attempts to roll back these critical methane waste standards. Last year, when the rule was finalized it received over 300,000 comments – the vast majority in opposition to delaying the implementation of the rule. In May 2017, a Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the BLM methane rule, which was backed by the administration and the oil and gas lobby, failed in the United States Senate.

“Sec. Zinke’s attacks on this critical methane standard are unwarranted and should be troubling to every Ohioan. If Secretary Zinke’s revised rule is finalized, taxpayers and communities will pay a heavy price.”